


Witches

by DarkPoisonousLove



Category: Winx Club
Genre: Anger, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Confessions, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Healing, Magic, Multi, Poor Life Choices, Pre-Canon, Sort Of, Spells & Enchantments, Unconsciousness, luckily for everyone, they aren't long-term though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:15:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24380413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkPoisonousLove/pseuds/DarkPoisonousLove
Summary: They used to be friends but that was when they were both witches. Or, more accurately, when Griffin thought they were both witches. Now Faragonda is just another fairy whose light magic is more important and better than her own dark one. She will make sure that is the only light Faragonda has left when she uproots any remains of hope for their friendship. She has to, for a witch can't be friends with a fairy.
Relationships: Ediltrude & Griffin & Zarathustra (Winx Club), Faragonda & Griffin (Winx Club), Faragonda & Griselda (Winx Club), Griffin & Griselda (Winx Club), Griselda & Ediltrude & Zarathustra (Winx Club)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Witches

**Author's Note:**

> This really got out of hand especially when I added those last parts (you'll know what I'm talking about when you get there) but I couldn't help it since I loved the idea and had to do all I could with it. On that note, there is a lot of angst in here but it ends with fluff and all is well, I promise. Enjoy! ;)

"I'm not going to fight you," Faragonda said, her back almost pressed against the magical barrier that was falling over Alfea every night now that it was time for finals and the senior witches loved to pick their guinea pigs among the fairies.

Faragonda had missed her opportunity to escape to safety when Griffin had blasted her at the side as she'd emerged from the clouds and had stopped her last-minute attempt to avoid trouble and not break curfew. Now she was sealed outside the school for the night where Griffin could finally get rid of any memories of their friendship for good. And so was her roommate.

Griselda had been on the inside of the descending magical shield when Griffin's magic had plowed Faragonda into the ground and, instead of minding her own business, she'd dived under the protection barrier to aid her friend. Griffin had always pegged her as a stickler for the rules but, apparently, her fairy pride wouldn't let her abandon a fellow fairy in trouble. She'd only wasted her time, though, because she would be of no help to Faragonda when Ediltrude and Zarathustra occupied both her attention and magic.

They'd never been supposed to be there at all but they'd intercepted Griffin's mission midflight on the way to Alfea and had insisted that they were coming since they'd known she was planning something big and wanted to help. She'd let them join when she'd figured it would send a clear message to Faragonda that they were done and she had friends she could count on now. They'd never been meant to fight her battle, though, and she wouldn't have let them lay a spell on Faragonda so Griselda was just wasting her time trying to protect Faragonda from them. They were of great help to Griffin now that they were keeping Griselda from interfering in her affairs however.

"I came here to fight you," Griffin stated firmly, letting her magic rush to her fingertips freely as she knew Faragonda could sense the power coming from it, and the rage, too. Anyone would be able to when her anger was almost palpable and looming over the thin thread of hope the fairy still held for the friendship from their past ready to tear through it. "So we will fight," Griffin spat out, disgusted with the words.

There was no fight in that magical battle, just a victory for her. She would wipe the mud on the ground with Faragonda and make sure that the only thing the fairy would see from now on when she looked at her would be the darkness of her worst nightmare. She would finally get rid of the ghost of any friendship there had been between them and stop seeing it in the mocking smiles all the other witches–except for Ediltrude and Zarathustra now that they were her friends–gave her and her own reflection in the mirror when she'd refused to go back to sleep after a dream that had had the fairy in it. She didn't want to see her anymore, didn't want to see the hope in her eyes. It was too much like the friend she remembered and that person was dead. So she had to kill the hope as well and let hurt fill the void left.

"You can fight me if you want," Faragonda said, her voice calm as if she was trying to talk down an out of control animal but her efforts were in vain all the same. "But I am not going to fight you, Griffin," she said, her eyes holding the same resolve that a storm did when it refused to go out and let the sun come out of the thick clouds and how did she dare? How did she dare say her name with so much faith in something that was long dead? It was disgusting.

"Faragonda, you have to fight," Griselda yelled at her somewhere from the side but Griffin didn't bother looking at her. She was sure Ediltrude and Zarathustra could tell on their own that they needed to up their game to keep her from interfering. In any way.

"You should listen to your new friend," Griffin taunted to keep the nausea from showing. Fairy friendship was so sickly sweet that she couldn't even stand the thought of it, not to mention witness it. She would have to make them both pay for forcing her in a situation where she had to be a victim of the image. Just another offence to add to the long list of things that fueled her magic.

"I won't hurt you, Griffin," Faragonda tried, her gaze only focused on Griffin as if to tell her she was still more important to her than her new kind. And here Griffin had thought fairies weren't supposed to be such dirty liars. Faragonda seemed to be terrible at being a fairy but that didn't make her any less such.

"You should worry about yourself because _I_ will be the one hurting _you_ ," Griffin hissed as she looked to the sky, not for the sight of the stars that hadn't come out–she wouldn't miss those as she'd wrap that farce of a battle with enough time to spare on a leisurely pace for her flight back to Cloud Tower–but for the darkness that was weaving itself together above their heads. She couldn't draw power from the void like she could from space bodies but there was certainly inspiration to find in the colors she was aiming to paint Faragonda's existence with. It was finally time for payback and she was sure to make it good. In fact, she had just the perfect spell in mind.

She'd studied pain in detail and as she'd learned now that sophomore year was coming to an end that there were many spells she could apply that knowledge to. She could hit the fairy with her pain but Faragonda didn't deserve that much as Griffin was sure she would warp it into a bonding experience with her mind-numbing optimism that somehow gave her enough strength to endure more than what should have already crushed her. That would be a hit against herself but, luckily, Griffin had another trick in her spells.

Griffin let her magic sneak inside Faragonda's body careful not to let it anywhere near her heart only to notice Faragonda's fingers fidgeting, yet she put up no resistance. The absolute fool. It was her loss and any possible lack of satisfaction from the easy win wouldn't sway Griffin from taking her triumph over her "dear friend".

She used the rage ripping through her to power the magic that was clawing at Faragonda's mind to release all the painful memories there could be found. Griffin knew there were enough of those thanks to a past that was now rotting and infecting everything good from the present. Faragonda had never been at home with her own family when she'd been pulling off the witch routine poorly and now that her act had fallen apart, they'd disowned her. It was sure to have broken her heart and so had the parting with Griffin herself. Faragonda had never been good at tearing people out of her heart which gave Griffin the perfect opportunity to tear her apart from the inside.

The spell she was using would destroy whatever dams Faragonda had struggled to build to keep the pain away and would let it flood her mind until she couldn't breathe through the agony. There would be nothing getting through the suffering the world had given her for her compassion and kindness. Nothing but hurt that Griffin would break through only to make it worse.

Faragonda was gritting her teeth to keep from screaming which was honestly a bit of a disappointment but Griffin would have to make do with what she had. And that was a fairy falling to her knees when she couldn't withstand the attack of her once best friend. It would teach her that her hope was wildly misplaced in the world of cruelty she'd entered and Griffin would savor her disillusionment with the reality of their relationship. Especially once the fairy started fighting back when she realized there was no affection or even mercy to keep her safe but it would be too late. It already was. Too late to save anything from the past that had turned treacherous as well the moment the present had.

She let Faragonda take a breath while she switched the focus of her energy to the blast she was charging. It left the spell clouding Faragonda's mind with all the pain of her life that she still kept inside her weaker but that was very far from respite. It was just the way to set up her grand finale when her presence would reach through the curtain of suffering the fairy was suffocating in only to hit her with more of it. She would let Faragonda know that she was only there to make her life more miserable and even though the battle would be over, the fairy's nightmare would be far from done.

"Faragonda," Griselda screamed having sensed the devastating wave of magic rising from Griffin.

She tried to fly to the rescue but Ediltrude's magic bit into her wings like a vicious snake and held her back.

Griselda specialized in protection spells–unfortunately for any witch that would love to mess her up and that was quite a high number–but despite the power she packed, she could never handle both twins and manage to protect Faragonda at the same time. Ediltrude and Zarathustra had enough power of their own to make sure Griselda would have to prioritize herself first and that left Faragonda oh so open to Griffin's attack. Just according to plan.

"Last chance to summon your winx," Griffin pushed with words before she'd let her magic shove at Faragonda until she couldn't hold on to any faith in their friendship and let it break to save herself from the same fate. "Not that it will save you," she said, more to feel the words herself and feel them vibrate in her throat the way her powers were shaking her whole frame. They were ready to disintegrate her and she wasn't even on the receiving end of them. Her attack would mess up Faragonda pretty badly which was exactly what the pixie deserved for refusing to fight her. Any damage she'd take she could only blame on herself and her flaky fairy powers.

"I don't… need my winx," Faragonda muttered under what breath she had left so quietly that Griffin barely heard her. "You won't hurt me," she insisted. A funny thing to say for someone who was bent over under the duress Griffin's magic was causing her and needed just a light tap to fall over with her face burying in the ground.

"Yes, I will," Griffin growled, letting her magic loom over Faragonda and the crackling energy forced the fairy's spine even lower under the crushing burden of her rage. It flowed out of her almost of its own volition and she was holding it back just to see Faragonda's will break under her instincts and force her to protect herself from the witch out for her head. And then she would do what witches did best and make the fairy regret she'd ever had light magic flowing through her veins.

"You can't hurt me with your pain, Griffin," Faragonda managed to heave out and it might have been because it was Griffin choking instead of her.

Somehow, her own powers were stifling her instead of the enemy but maybe that was just it. Her magic was turning on her when there was nothing from which it could protect her. So using so much in vain was hurting her instead. She had to rein it in and stop hurting herself.

"I just hope you got all of it out," Faragonda's eyes found hers and the charge that ran through them made all her control crumble to dust.

Her magic exploded like a bomb between them and sent Griffin flying in the air before she landed in the dirt. Her glasses flew off her head which was a lucky mishap that might have saved her from having glass shards piercing her eyes when she smashed her face in the ground, the groan of pain that bubbled from inside her barely having any room to get out with how closely she was pressed into the soil.

There was no air rushing into her lungs even when she managed to prop herself up on her elbows and she wasn't sure how a grunt escaped from her mouth despite the electricity of pain running up her sides and shocking her lungs to take them out of business. As if the worry for Faragonda that was currently strangling her hadn't accomplished that already.

She ignored it and pushed herself up in spite of it when she knew it would only loosen its grip on her throat once she'd made sure Faragonda was breathing. She ran to the fairy who was sprawled on the ground on her back, her eyes closed and her breathing shallow. She'd lost consciousness from the blast that had slammed her into the ground so hard it had sunk slightly down around her, shaping a small crater into the ground that had her form. Quite like the figures they would make in the snow at winter but much more grotesque with its ugly brown–almost black like death–color and solid texture that wasn't moved by the frailness of Faragonda's body.

'Faragonda," Griffin croaked, exerting all the oxygen the fear was only taunting her with, letting it in her lungs only to pull it out again like some sort of vicious yo-yo that could kill her if stolen from her grip. She couldn't hold on to it currently when she needed to see what she could do for Faragonda, though. Her friend was the priority when it was all Griffin's fault that they were dug into the ground.

Griffin raised her hands above Faragonda's body to scan for injuries. It was a spell she knew from her mother and would be hard to perform when she'd been too little to learn it properly and hadn't practiced it in years. Not to mention that her hands were shaking. From terror or lack of energy, she couldn't really tell herself. She had to try, though. For Faragonda. Thanks to her attack both fairies were stranded out of Alfea and wouldn't be able to get medical help until morning. She was Faragonda's only chance. Or at least she hoped so. She couldn't be wrong now when she'd already made too many mistakes.

Her emotions were all over the place but she did her best to push everything negative down. Letting it rise in the first place had been what had caused the mess they were all in the middle of currently and Faragonda deserved only good things. She didn't deserve the darkness Griffin had let poison her magic.

She hadn't made Faragonda face a witch. She'd made her face a monster. A monster they were all lucky had died–or so Griffin hoped–when she'd collided with the ground. Faragonda was still in need of the help of a friend, though.

Griffin managed the spell only to feel her own teeth gritting to the point of breaking at the information flooding her mind. There were a lot of cracked ribs in Faragonda's chest–it seemed like it had taken the main impact of both the magic and the landing–and bruising and swelling everywhere. Miraculously, there was nothing broken – probably because Griffin's attack had lost its focus right before going off. She could have killed her friend otherwise and she was only lucky that the universe was looking after Faragonda. And in doing so it was looking after her as well, saving her from becoming a murderer.

She summoned all her leftover magic again, this time for a healing spell. She had too many wrong emotions and fishing through them for the right ones would drain all the energy she had left but it was a small price to pay for fixing her mistake. She wouldn't need magic ever again if anything happened to Faragonda because of her. Both their lives would be over.

She tried to focus on all the happy memories she had with her friend but they refused to come to her when she'd spent so long trying to push them out of her mind. She had to cut through her own consciousness to drag them out when they kept resisting and the only thing that scared her about that was that she might not have the strength to draw out enough of them to charge her magic. Especially when the uncertainty of the future was trying to eat all the happiness out of them and leave them just empty shells that would break even before she did. She was familiar with the feeling and hated it to death when it terrified her just as much.

She would ask Griselda for help but she wasn't sure what condition the fairy was in and the fight with the twins had certainly exhausted her–especially once Zarathustra had managed to sneak her magic under Griselda's shield which Griselda's distraction had certainly led to–whether she'd been hit by her out of control blast or not. She couldn't waste time looking when it could very well lead to nothing which would probably be the case since nor Griselda, neither the twins had interfered. They could still be out cold which was a problem she couldn't spend worry on right now. Even if it meant ignoring the fact that she might have hurt all three of her friends at once and would certainly not have the energy to take care of all of them when it was draining out of her system fast.

She felt the beads of sweat forming on her forehead rapidly and nearly bringing her down with them when they fell. She only managed to stop her momentum because she would fall on top of Faragonda otherwise and even her exhausted muscles wouldn't allow that when she had already caused her friend enough trouble.

"Faragonda?" Griffin questioned once the spell died down when there was no more magic to feed it. She hated how quiet her voice was with the hope in it that she was afraid to make louder lest it drew the cruelty of the world to it. Faragonda would never be so timid when wishing anything good to Griffin and she owed it to her to get over herself and put her faith out in the universe if she wanted her hopes to be answered. "Faragonda," Griffin tried again, this time more demanding when the spell had had enough time to set deep inside Faragonda's body and do its job.

The lack of response left her empty for the panic to spread through her. She'd exhausted every last bit of power she had on the healing spell and she couldn't even scan Faragonda's body again to see how efficient it had been, not to mention do anything if it hadn't done a good enough job.

"Faragonda, you can't leave me here wishing I could be a fairy so my light magic would be strong enough to heal you," Griffin cried out as she grasped Faragonda's shoulders, only her last remains of logic and self-restraint keeping her from shaking her unconscious friend. "You can't abandon me," she whispered weakly when the fear broke through every last ounce of spite she had relied on to keep her going after she'd lost her best friend. "I need you," she confessed what had left her so terrified month after month when she'd thought she'd lost her friend forever. And what a silly thought that had been. Yet, she'd let it poison her mind and lead her down a path she didn't know how to come back from if it ended with permanent damage to Faragonda and their friendship.

"I could never abandon you," Faragonda's voice reached her even through the blur of water and worry blocking her sight. It was hoarse but still woven from reassurance and the only sound that could make her happy.

Her tears started rolling down her cheeks when they were charged with relief that refused to stay confined inside her and stay in the way of her gratitude to the universe as well. Her friend was back and she didn't seem hurt or even angry – a miracle Griffin wasn't sure she deserved after she'd given up her belief in their friendship just because of a change in circumstances that wasn't even real. Faragonda was no different from who she'd been when everyone had thought her to be a witch and she should have seen it. She would have if she hadn't been so blinded by the magic in her veins.

"I'll have to show you around Alfea once you transfer," Faragonda said and the mirth in her words and grin made Griffin gasp, the realization of how much she'd missed it hitting hard and the confirmation that Faragonda was truly fine hitting even harder.

"I'm going to…" Griffin started but there was no threat she could make herself say right now. Just the overwhelming need to hug her friend and she helped Faragonda sit up only to engulf her in her embrace, finally able to breathe when she hugged back. Feeling Faragonda's arms around her was like coming home. "I'll never let you go again," she promised as she pulled back to let Faragonda see the truth of it in her eyes after she'd said so many things she hadn't truly meant. At least not deep down in her heart and she should have never buried her love for her friend under so many layers of negative emotions she'd tried to convince herself would strengthen her magic. It had nearly doomed them.

"And here I thought there was no revenge yet to come," Faragonda joked and Griffin had to take a moment to comprehend the lightness in her after what she'd just caused her. It was that kindness and compassion again that she couldn't get enough of when she knew she could never give them to herself.

"You know me better than that," Griffin said cautiously but was relieved to find that there was no bitterness left in the sentiment. Just like there wasn't supposed to be when it was true. It was the truest thing in the world and she couldn't be happier. "Still a witch," she said, still able to find pride in the statement now that she knew where all the lines of that lay and which of them she had to be responsible with and which she could send to hell.

"You sure you won't be growing wings on us, Griffin?" Ediltrude's tease nearly made her jump out of her skin when it startled her with the fact that she still belonged with the twins as well as with herself. There was no real malice in the sound and she should have known there wouldn't be. The twins were ride or die just like she should have been.

She looked up to find them standing close and in far better shape than she had expected after she'd lost control of herself and turned into a landmine for those she loved the most. They were worn down but it all seemed to be part of the toll of the battle with Griselda who was also standing nearby. None of them looked like they'd taken any damage from her blast and that was the only thing that allowed her to find her sass.

"Shut up, Ediltrude, before I blast you through that tree behind you," she threatened even when she was pretty sure right now the twins had more magic than she did. She wouldn't even be able to fly back to Cloud Tower unless they waited for a while which would see them breaking curfew but that was just normal witch activity and absolutely harmless compared to what had just transpired.

"Our lives will be emptier without you, Grif," Ediltrude said, more seriously this time but she didn't allow her voice to get very far from playful. It could never bother Griffin or undermine the care she knew was there. Especially considering that Ediltrude revealed that she'd had Griffin's glasses behind her back the whole time and sent them floating through the air towards Griffin, effectively demonstrating that she was indeed more powerful at that precise moment. Show-off.

"You mean there will finally be room in that room of ours," Griffin said as she grabbed her glasses puzzled to see all they had was a scratch on the frame but still thankful for the little miracle. Yet, she spared little of her attention on it when she was busy holding on to Faragonda and bantering with Ediltrude – something she'd never thought she could have. But it was real now that she'd let faith touch her heart again.

"That too," Ediltrude agreed, uncharacteristically of her. Though, it didn't take much more than outrage for them all to reach the same conclusion that their room was too small and stuffy for them to fit comfortably in. "But it won't be our dorm room without you," Ediltrude said and this time she was all open and sappy which might have been one of the most bizarre and scary things Griffin had ever seen. She was half sure that was exactly what Ediltrude had been after when she'd allowed herself to show genuine emotion.

"I think you'll both be growing wings on me and I will be left alone," Zarathustra grabbed her chance to cut in the conversation and insult them both and Griffin couldn't risk telling them how comforting it was to see everything was back to normal when it would just further Zarathustra's point. "Not to mention that in that case Ediltrude and I will be the "good twin, evil twin" cliché," she said and Griffin couldn't even roll her eyes at what was surely the beginning of a sisterly quarrel when she was just glad she had them both and didn't need to hold them like she was doing with Faragonda to convince herself in that.

"Dark magic doesn't mean evil," Ediltrude prioritized that objection, which didn't mean that she wouldn't bite into her sister about the insinuation that she was acting like a fairy but that took a backseat to defending her witch honor. She was full of paradoxes as always although Griffin could understand her passion on the matter.

"I meant that you will be the evil one. Betraying your kind and all," Zarathustra clarified, driving them further into the fight despite the mischievous tone. Or rather because of it.

Ediltrude's arms dropped at her sides where she balled her fists. She wouldn't stand for having her pride or sense of identity mocked and Zarathustra had just managed to poke at both which, normally, meant war. "Listen here you little-"

"I'm the older twin, you can't talk to me like that," Zarathustra interrupted, not showing much for her "older" age when the wise move had been to just back off for the moment at least. Or simply not start the fight in the first place. And Ediltrude wouldn't be her only problem if she made Griffin get up from where she and Faragonda were still entangled to enforce a truce between the twins.

"I can do whatever-

"You can still fly, right?" Griselda intercepted so suddenly yet somehow smoothly that Griffin feared what that composure could do to the explosive mix that the twins were on a good day. It seemed like Griselda wasn't worried about them attacking her, though. "Go back to your school and take your loud bickering with you," she said, her tone startling the twins when it wasn't one with which many people dared talk to them. "This place is already a bad enough shelter for the night. It doesn't need your shrieking to make it worse," Griselda turned to scowl at the forest around them, drawing Griffin's attention to the ground.

There were traces in the soil from where a protective shield had dug into it and considering the magic had been forced to cut into the forest floor, Griffin could only assume it had been her blast that had done that. Griselda had had to put up a barrier to protect herself but the more interesting thing was that the diameter was unusually big. It would have been a total waste of energy to make a shield that big for just herself and Griffin knew enough about Griselda to tell that wasn't her style. She'd made her magic cover the twins, too, which could explain why they still weren't at her throat. She'd saved them from the destructive force of Griffin's magic and they had enough decency to act grateful for it. Now that was a curious thing that Griffin could exploit later.

"Regretting poor choices?" Griffin jumped in to draw all the attention to herself before someone else could explode. She at least was harmless with all of her magic out of the way. For the moment, that was.

"Yes. Your poor choices and horrible timing." Griselda scowled at her and the best Griffin could do was keep it down to a smirk instead of a full-blown grin. "Thanks to those we'll have to sleep out here." She had a point there.

"Faragonda can't sleep out here in her condition and you don't have enough magic left to take care of her properly," Griffin objected, not looking to start a fight but pointing out the facts. They had to figure something out and she was ready to help as much as she could without her powers considering the whole mess was all her doing. She'd just gotten Faragonda back. She wasn't letting anything happen to her just because she'd been a witch first and a friend second. A terrible one at that.

"And whose fault is that?" Griselda asked, looking like an angry mom with her hands on her hips and Griffin had to stifle the impulse to laugh when she was every part the guilty child in the situation.

"If you will shut up," Zarathustra said as she walked over to Griselda, wearing the glare she received like a magical cloak, "I might be able to tell you that I have a potion that can get through that barrier. I just have to get it from Cloud Tower while you wait here," Zarathustra offered even though it sounded more like boasting and Griffin had to wonder whether that was gratefulness for the rescue Griselda had provided or just the twins' way of sticking with her and showing support.

"That will weaken the barrier," Griselda objected, ready to stick to the rules even in a situation like that and Griffin wondered how much trouble she'd get in with Faragonda if she had to kick Griselda through the opening in the barrier Zarathustra could make. Hopefully, not too much since she would do it if she had to and she and Faragonda had a lot of catching up to do. They didn't have time to waste on fighting over Griselda.

"I'm all ready for senior year," Zarathustra grinned.

"You don't have another option unless you want to sleep outside," Ediltrude joined in, ever so helpful when it came to rubbing people's noses in their predicaments. Not to mention that with Griselda the desire to do so doubled at least, considering she always seemed to be prepared for everything. "It's not like we can take you with us," Ediltrude shrugged carelessly and Griffin was sure the casual gesture made Griselda want to strangle her but she had far too much control to give into the impulse. "No fairies in the witch dorms," Ediltrude pointed out, pretending to be all good will and hospitality while Griffin was sure the thought of having Griselda having to rely on them was greatly amusing her.

"As if I'd ever want to go in the witch dorms," Griselda scoffed. She looked like she was losing patience with the twins and their antics and Griffin would feel bad about her since she'd been there herself–many times–but it was just too rewarding to see Ediltrude and Zarathustra getting on someone else's nerves. Even if she was sure she'd have a hard time standing them later when they were still reeling from getting the upper hand against Griselda for once.

"Then you need to trust us," Ediltrude said, her features schooled save for the upturned corner of her mouth but all of them could feel her smugness flooding every inch of free space around them. It was probably one of the best moments of her life.

Griselda caught Faragonda's gaze, her expression grave. "We will regret this."

"I thought you already were," Ediltrude said, sounding offended at the implication that her presence wasn't an absolute bother already. And she looked like she was sifting through ideas about how to best fix that.

"We'll have to step up our game then," Zarathustra said, leaving Griffin on the edge when she didn't have her magic and wouldn't be able to interfere if another magical fight broke out which was definitely always a possibility with the twins. Add in Griselda and things didn't look too good.

" _You_ have to step up your game, sis. because you'll be breathing my dust," Ediltrude cackled as she shoved at Zarathustra. "Race you to Cloud Tower," she shouted as she took off, making Griffin sigh in relief. She would've just gotten in a fight with Griselda if she'd stayed behind but for the first time ever, Ediltrude's competitiveness actually worked in all their favor.

"Oh, no, you don't," Zarathustra muttered as she shot after her sister.

A race between them meant that they would be back pretty soon which was great news considering Faragonda could use a bed. And Griffin could use one, too, even if she wasn't quite sure how she would get back to Cloud Tower with how exhausted she was for both walking and flying. The twins could end up helping her if they didn't drain every last bit of their magic for the potion.

Griselda sighed. "At least they're not in Alfea."

Griffin smirked at the perfectly good opportunity to mess with the fairy. "Yet," she said, her smile only stretching at the dirty look Griselda shot her.

"We heard that, Griffin," Ediltrude yelled from above. It appeared they were still near and had probably started with ascending as high up in the sky as possible before heading for Cloud Tower. They were wasting their energy like the absolute disaster witches that they were and she wasn't even surprised at that point.

"We can still lock you out of the room, you know," Zarathustra didn't miss her chance to join in even when she already had her hands full with her sister.

"Me?" Griffin asked, acting more scandalized than she actually was. "Ediltrude is the one who drank your coffee," she said, taking them both down with just one shot. "You know I prefer tea," she said to make sure Ediltrude wouldn't manage to talk her way out of that one. As if she would let either twin outwitch her.

"What?" Zarathustra screeched and Griffin could practically see the glare that Ediltrude had to survive even if the twins were already out of sight. Just like she could see the one Ediltrude was sending her way.

"You'll pay for that, Griffin," her outrage pierced through the clouds as it aimed for Griffin.

"I love you, too," Griffin yelled after her when she knew Ediltrude would have to handle her own mess first before she could think about revenge. And whatever it was, she could handle it. It was just some friendly retribution. It wasn't like she had to fear for her life.

Griselda shook her head as she crossed her arms. "Witches," she huffed.

It only had Griffin and Faragonda sharing a look and grinning at each other. Witches indeed.


End file.
